Can I have…

A toy penguin?

A fishy barrette?

A new toy fire truck?

A goose whale like a toy bucket (no idea)?

A toy chest for my toys?

And friendship, sunshine, clean air, the stock market to go up (prompted by Dave)?

- MADDY

UPDATE: This morning I decided I needed to write an addendum to my letter. Here is what my mom helped me write:

Dear Santa,

I want a little bit more toys.

Can I have that jingle bells for my Christmas tree and that other ornament for Hayden she likes purple I like pink.

Can I have fishy barrette and socks and pajaymies and new underwear?

Love,
Maddy, Hayden, Mommy & Daddy

P.S. Below is a glimpse at us preparing our tree for your visit…

We escaped to San Diego for Thanksgiving, and while we missed our always-fun family gatherings, it was nice to be somewhere with lots of sun and no rain. Our flights were less than pleasant, but we survived them and had a great time with college friends Amy and Joanne and their families.

The highlight of the trip was Sea World, where Maddy was mesmerized by Shamu, Elmo, Zoe, and pretty much everything else. She was reunited and became best buds with Amy’s 4-year-old Nathan (who now better get on Skype so she can stay in touch). Maddy was also extremely excited to hold Joanne’s 2-month-old Bradley and gave him many sweet kisses. Hayden had fun exploring new toys, and was an awesome sleeper despite the less-than-ideal schedule. Here are more photos:

In other news, Hayden’s adding a few more teeth and words to her repertoire. She now has 2 molars in the back, and finally her 4 front teeth on both the top and bottom. Her current vocabulary consists of “boo!,” “uh oh,” “hi!,” “mama,” and “dada.” Maddy’s getting pretty good with identifying letters and loves to practice “writing” them on my iPad with the alphabet apps we have.